Projects } About
The Northwest Dance Project conducts innovative dance Projects offering top dancers 16 to 25 years old valuable opportunities to study and work with world-class directors, choreographers, mentors and dance coaches in open and inclusive company settings.
Today's foremost choreographers and companies seek dancers with the versatility to perform a wide range of work. Our Projects are a unique way for dancers to see and be seen while increasing their ability to perform dynamic works of contrasting styles and making crucial professional connections.
Participation in all Projects is selective and limited in order to provide each dancer the opportunity to work directly and intimately with our guest artists.
We are pleased to announce that over 30 dance company contracts have been offered to NWPDP dancers as a direct result of their participation in our Projects.
"The Northwest Dance Project is a great opportunity to see and work with developing dancers. It's the rare opportunity to see potential company members in a working environment. I'm able to get to know them as people and artists and evaluate their work in a much more meaningful way as opposed to the superficial view I would receive in an hour and a half audition."
-- Paul Vasterling / Artistic Director, Nashville Ballet / Guest Artist
LAUNCH Projects
LAUNCH participants must demonstrate advanced ballet technique, be versatile and movement oriented, open to artistic direction and suggestion, and be explorative and highly professional. Acceptance is limited and selective in order to emphasize individualized instruction, professional mentoring and close collaboration. LAUNCH requires that our dancers have the stamina and commitment to dance intensively up to ten hours per day.
LAUNCH also serves as the audition process for acceptance into our Project Company (The PC).
LAUNCH: 2 July 7 - 18 / 2009
Guest Artists /
James Canfield / Nevada Ballet Theatre
Susan Gaudreau / BJM Danse Montréal
Bebe Miller / Bebe Miller Company
Sarah Slipper / Northwest Professional Dance Project
Paul Vasterling / Nashville Ballet
Septime Webre / Washington Ballet
Edgar Zendejas / ezdanza
+ more
The Northwest Dance Project introduces LAUNCH: 2, our summer Project designed for the professional dancer seeking opportunities to see and be seen. Selected dancers will work for two intensive weeks alongside leading Artistic Directors and two selected emerging choreographers on movement exploration, improvisation and choreographic mastery.
In addition to morning master ballet classes and working closely with our esteemed guest directors, experiencing their artistic and company's style and making critical professional connections, LAUNCH: 2 provides the opportunity to collaborate in the creative process. Working with two unique emerging creative voices, dancers will have an opportunity to present newly created works in an informal setting before a public audience on the final day.
All interested dancers must apply and audition in-person for LAUNCH: 2 unless they have participated in a previous Project (returning dancers must send completed application and $25 fee to be received by March 27, 2009). Please see the AUDITIONS page for full details and to download the LAUNCH: 2 application.
Fee: $875
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The Pretty Creatives Project
The Northwest Dance Project announces a call for entries for our new The Pretty Creatives Project to identify two emerging choreographers who will have an opportunity to create an original work during LAUNCH: 2.
The Northwest Dance Project is committed to working with artists of diverse experiences and backgrounds, and utilizes The Pretty Creatives Project as a way to help develop new voices in dance.
Selected choreographers will participate in a six-day summer residency from July 13 to 18, 2009 during our LAUNCH: 2 Project. During the residency period, selected choreographers will be offered a 3-hour daily creative period during which they will have an open forum to create and develop new choreographic material. An informal presentation of the resulting "works-in-progress" or completed works will be shown on the final day and open to the public. Choreographers will be asked to work with all our LAUNCH dancers, but the developed piece can be set on a smaller group of dancers. The Northwest Dance Project's Artistic Director, Sarah Slipper, will help guide this residency.
The residency includes:
- creative honorarium
- 6 days of rehearsal time with the dancers (18 hours)
- travel to Portland, per diem and accommodation
2009 Pretty Creatives Winning Choreographers:
Maurice Causey began studying ballet at the age of 15 in his hometown of Florence, Alabama at the Florence School of Ballet and was awarded Ford Foundation scholarships to study at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre School and the Joffrey pre-professional program. Maurice danced professionally with the Cleveland Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. In 1991, William Forsythe offered him a contract to dance with Ballet Frankfurt. Maurice was a Principal Dancer with Ballet Frankfurt until 1999, dancing almost the entire Forsythe repertoire. From 1999-2002 he was a Principal Dancer with the Gothenburg Ballet in Sweden. He later served as Ballet Master with the Royal Swedish Ballet. In 2004, Maurice was named Ballet Master for Netherlands Dance Theatre. He had his premiere with NDT as a choreographer in May of 2008 and was nominated for the best Dutch Dance Production for "Mood Swings." In addition to creating new works around the world, Maurice teaches workshops on the Forsythe improvisational technologies, and he recently returned to Milwaukee Ballet to create a new work.
Lauren Edson, originally from Boise, Idaho, began her studies at Ballet Idaho Academy and Westside Dance Academy. She continued her formal studies at North Carolina School of the Arts and The Juilliard School, under the direction of the late Benjamin Harkarvy. Her professional experiences include: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Portland Opera, Idaho Dance Theatre and Ballet Idaho. She has performed the works of such notable choreographers as Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, Angelin Perljocaj, Pina Bausch, and Robert Battle. Her choreography has been featured at the American Dance Guild Festival in NY, Idaho Dance Theatre, Ten Tiny Dances, AWOL and DROP Dance Collective, to name a few. She is currently the resident choreographer for NW Fusion Dance Company, and teaches at BodyVox, Portland Youth Ballet and Westside Dance Academy.
Read the full press release HERE
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LAUNCH: 1 December 27 - 30 / 2008
Guest Artistic Directors
Robert Battle / Artistic Director / Battleworks Dance Company
James Canfield / Artistic Director / Nevada Ballet Theatre
Lucas Crandall / Associate Artistic Director / Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Robert Moses / Artistic Director / Robert Moses' Kin
Benoit-Swan Pouffer / Artistic Director / Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Sarah Slipper / Artistic Director / Northwest Professional Dance Project
The Northwest Dance Project's LAUNCH program and dancers from LAUNCH: 1 in December are featured on Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's site - part of the cool "project52" video series! Check it out HERE